A polymeric lyotropic liquid crystal solution comprises a birefringent aromatic polymer. A linear polarizer layer is obtained by shear-coating the polymeric lyotropic liquid crystal solution on a coatable substrate, and treating the resulting coating layer with a doping-passivation solution containing iodine and multi-valent cations. A linear polarizer includes a birefringent coating layer of 1.0 micrometers or less in thickness, and contains birefringent aromatic polymer, iodine anions, and multi-valent cations. An optical article includes an optical retarder layer of 1.0 micrometers or less in thickness and a linear polarizer layer of 1.0 micrometers or less in thickness, with an intermediate layer between the linear polarizer layer and the optical retarder layer. The optical retarder layer contains a first birefringent aromatic polymer generally aligned along a first alignment direction and the linear polarizer layer contains a second birefringent aromatic polymer generally aligned along a second alignment direction, with an angle between the first alignment direction and the second alignment direction in a range of 40° to 50°.